Page:Memoirs of Vidocq, Volume 1.djvu/116

 who was in the granary, "wait whilst I open the door;" and putting the key in the lock, I jumped at two bounds down the stair-case of the town-hall and got into the street with my ribbon still on, and which would again have caused my arrest had not the day been drawing to a close.

I was scarcely out, when the jailor, who rarely lost sight of me said, "Where is Vidocq?" They told him that I was taking a turn in the yard; but when he went there to convince himself, he sought me every where in vain, calling loudly over all parts of the prison (an official search would not have been more successful), no prisoner had seen me go out. It was soon known that I was no longer in the prison; but how then could I have escaped? Of this no one knew anything—not even Francine, who most ingenuously declared that she knew nothing of how I had liberated myself, for she had brought me the ribbon without knowing the purpose for which I intended it. She was however confined; but this revealed nothing, the soldiers, who had allowed me to pass, taking good care not to implicate themselves.

Whilst they were thus punishing the pretended authors of my escape, I left the city and reached Courtrai, where the juggler Olivier and the quack Devoye enrolled me in their troop to play pantomime. I saw there many prisoners who had escaped, whose acting costume, which they always wore (because they had no other) served greatly to mystify the police. From Courtrai we returned to Ghent, whence we were soon to depart for the fair of Enghien. We were in this latter city for five days: and the receipt, of which I had a share, was very good; when one evening, as I was about to go on the stage, I was arrested by the police officers, to whom I had been betrayed by the Merry Andrew, out of malice at seeing me fill the chief characters. I was again taken back to Lille, where I learnt, to my great grief, that my poor Francine had been sentenced to six months' confinement for having